


On the Road There

by looney gloomy hobbit (Stardustandbacon)



Series: trying to write in quarantine [5]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Driving, Family Bonding, Gen, Moving, Post-Season/Series 03
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:20:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24375697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stardustandbacon/pseuds/looney%20gloomy%20hobbit
Summary: on the way to their new home, the byers family discusses their move.
Relationships: Jonathan Byers & Will Byers, Joyce Byers & Eleven | Jane Hopper
Series: trying to write in quarantine [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1687312
Comments: 4
Kudos: 9





	On the Road There

_“Darling you got to let me know,  
Should I stay or should I go?”_

“This takes me back,” said Will Byers, smiling. The mixtape he was listening to was making the long drive to the Byers’ new home more bearable.

His brother Jonathan cracked a small smile back at him, though not taking his hands off the wheel or eyes off the road. “Back to when this mess started, or before that?”

“Both,” Will replied, laughing. “Some things were better before that, and some things were better after.”

Jonathan raised an eyebrow. “Really? You really think so? I mean, that sounds awfully optimistic, especially after what you’ve been through -” he shivered a little, thinking of all he’d seen his little brother endure. The possession was enough to give him nightmares, and he wasn’t even the one who was possessed! “- I think I might’ve been happier if, y’know, everything was still boring.”

“What are you talking about? You got a girlfriend out of this!” Will pointed out, laughing. “Sure, I was kidnapped into an alternate dimension- “

“Filled with monsters,” Jonathan interrupted. “Which have since terrorized you, the town, and blew up the mall. Nancy Wheeler’s great, but I don’t wanna just think of myself. Besides, I feel like it’s our fault Russians got the mall. Wouldn’t have happened if we didn’t investigate the lab last fall.”

“You did what you thought was right. You knew that they opened the gate in the first place, and you took em out.” Will looked at his brother. “It’s not your fault. I know you just didn’t want anyone getting hurt anymore.”

Jonathan looked at Will for a second, seeing the sincerity in his eyes shining back at him. He sighed. “Thanks,” he said, “but it doesn’t feel that easy to let go of. People got hurt, and they were going to be hurt either way.”

“Yeah, but they had El. She was just kept there her whole life, and she might never have gotten out,” Will argued, referring to the girl who, at this point, was kind of like their adopted sister. “I’m glad she’s moving with us.”

“I see your point, and I’m glad too,” Jonathan said, “but it sucks that she basically has to move. The reason, I mean.”

Both boys were quiet, thinking back to Chief Hopper. How he’d been Eleven’s adoptive father, how he’d rescued Will back in ’83, how they both knew their mom still harbored a bit of her crush from high school on the man. And they both remembered how heartbroken their mother had looked after she had returned without him. How she’d shook her head to Eleven, tears brimming in her eyes, silently communicating that no, the man the girl had come to know as her father hadn’t made it. The memorial, Eleven’s move in with them (Hopper had said that if anything happened to him, Joyce Byers had legal custody of his daughter) and their packing up and leaving Hawkins not long after. All of Will’s friends had somehow made the process both easier and more difficult. They’d provided great support and levity when he needed it, which made them all the more hard to leave.

He knew Johnathan felt that way about Nancy, too. Even Steve Harrington - former bully, former boyfriend of Nancy, and former ice cream scooper, current dad friend and video store employee - had personally stopped by and told Jonathan that he’d miss him and Will, and wished them good luck in their new home. Somewhat awkwardly, but then again, everything Steve did was couched in an air of awkwardness. Will wondered how he ever seemed like the big man at Hawkins High School.

They rode in silence for a few more minutes before Will spoke. “When are we getting there, again?”

Jonathan looked at the car’s clock, trying - and failing - to remember what time they’d left Hawkins. “Dunno exactly. I think soon though. Mom said that she wanted to make it there in one day, and if we drive much longer, we’ll be spending the night someplace. Here, get out the map and look for the exit she circled.”

Will pulled a rumpled map out of the glove box and began to scan it. “It’s funny, I would’ve thought mom would wanna get out of small towns. This place seems like it’s in the middle of nowhere.” He tilted his head towards the window, where the scenery had become steadily more rural during their drive.

“Yeah. I guess I was wrong. I thought you couldn’t get more middle-of-nowhere than Hawkins. That place is small, but I think this town is even smaller.” Jonathan laughed.

“Why are we going so far, anyway? Why not someplace like Chicago, or Indianapolis?”

“Honestly, Will, I think mom just wanted to get away from everything. The people in cities, if they knew we were from Hawkins, they’d pester us with questions. The town’s been in the news several times in the past few years, y’know.”

“Yeah, you don’t have to tell me twice,” Will replied, rolling his eyes.

Jonathan laughed again, causing Will to grin. “Sseriously, though,” Jonathan continued, “there’s so many nosy neighbors we’d have to deal with in the city. Mom didn’t want any of us to have to deal with that. Especially Eleven.”

“That’s good.” Cities were loud, anyway, and big. You could get lost in one if you didn’t pay attention, and you could run into gangs. Will doubted that he would’ve run into a gang wherever they’d moved, but still, cities were unfamiliar territory. Overwhelming, for both him _and_ Eleven. Maybe it was better they were moving to a tiny town that was composed of mostly farmland.

Before he was totally sucked into daydreams, Will noticed the road sign. “Oh, get off at the next exit, by the way.”

“Thanks,” replied Jonathan, putting on his turn signal and preparing to change lanes.

❀ ✿ ❀ ✿ ❀ ✿ ❀ ✿ ❀ ✿ ❀ ✿ ❀ ✿ ❀ ✿ ❀ ✿ ❀ ✿

“It’s an old white farmhouse. Its big enough for you to have your own room, if you want,” Joyce Byers kept looking at the girl next to her as she drove, trying to gauge her reaction. She knew her boys well enough to know they would be fine, or that they would at least be fine enough to not warrant her coaxing and constant checking to see how they were adjusting. But Eleven was a wild card. A sweet girl who’d had a hard life that took a turn for the better, but that had been crumpled and ripped apart before her eyes. Joyce felt for her and wanted to make this move as easy as possible on Eleven, so as not to make her hurt any more than she already was hurting.

Sitting next to her in the U-Haul, Eleven kept her expression neutral, yet attentive and intrigued. She didn’t know what to think, so instead she listened. She was already missing Mike and Lucas and Dustin and Max and everyone else, she was grateful that she had the Byerses to rely on for support. If she didn’t have the whole party with her, she did have Will, and Jonathan was now acting as an older brother to both of them. And Joyce was sweet, gentle, caring, and attentive; like the mother she should’ve had but never did.

Mother. She briefly felt sick to her stomach, remembering her mama and Becky, back in Indiana. Joyce had told them that she was moving out of state, and gotten their address, so Eleven could write to them whatever she wanted to. Still, she felt bad, moving so far away from them.

El shook her head, clearing the thoughts away, as Joyce began to speak again. “It’s a small town,” she said, “even smaller than Hawkins. There’s not really a downtown, just a couple shops, and a bunch of farms and fields.” Joyce momentarily turned her head to Eleven. “Have you ever been on a farm?”

“Not really. I’ve just seen the farms around Hawkins when I was out with my friends.”

Smiling a little, Joyce continued, “Well, now you’ll be able to see some up close. I’ll show you around if you want. Me, you, Will, and Jonathan, we can go exploring a little once we unpack a bit.”

El gave Joyce a small, grateful smile. “Thank you.”

Joyce looked Eleven in the eyes, taking on a serious tone. “El, I just want you to know, I-I want this to be as easy as possible for you. And – just – if you have any problems, or you just want someone to talk to, even, just…let me know, okay? You can come to me for anything.”

Touched, El smiled again. “Thank you, Joyce. I…I will.”

The two exchanged another look, and for one moment, their troubles were lessened, and their moving jitters were calmed. It seems, even if just for a moment, that everything might be okay.

The trance was broken when Joyce spoke. “Oh! Here we are, the city limits. Our house is about five minutes from the edge of town, so we’re almost there.”

Eleven nodded and stretched her arms as they passed the sign welcoming them and the boys in the car behind to their new home:

**“WELCOME TO HOOTERVILLE”**

**Author's Note:**

> okay so youre thinking one of three things:  
> 1\. oh my gosh WHY are you crossing over with THAT of all things  
> 2\. wait, i just read number 1, this is a crossover?????  
> 3\. what a weird town name  
> or youre julia from tumblr and know exactly what my nonsense is  
> anyways, hAHA, SURPRISE CROSSOVER! the whole thing isnt done, but there's more to this story. i might repost this as the actual proper first chapter, later, but for now this is kinda a sneak peek!!!  
> find me on [tumblr](http://lunarhobbits.tumblr.com/) ♡


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